I spend a lot of time in my cottage (CatNurse Cottage) and on quiet catnappy afternoons when not writing or watching endless cute cat videos, I crochet. And I always crochet the same exact thing - catnapping blankets. I always do the same 2 stitches – single and double crochet. If I’m feeling especially inspired I may crochet a ruffle around the border and throw in a triple crochet just to spice things up. And my blankets are always 75 stitches long and about 50 rows wide. I rarely do anything different. I might vary the gauge (thickness of the yarn) and the colors but I always do the same.darn.thing. Every.single.time.

     I’ve often thought that I should break out of this yarny mold and challenge myself - learn new stitches, make round catnapping blankets, crochet bobbles and chevrons and seashells. Or crochet a scarf, by all means! I mean really, how many blankets do cats need? (Although I do give many away.) How hard could it be to do something different, just once? But no – I never do! As a matter of fact right next to me are several books on crocheting from the library all full of beautiful patterns and stitches that I know I could teach myself. But who am I fooling; I don’t want to learn new stitches. I’m perfectly fine doing the same exact pattern every time. And do you want to know why? (Please say yes.) It’s because I’ve come to realize that I get into a meditative state when I do the same thing over and over again. It requires no effort at all and is very calming.

     Recently I set out to find out if others have found this same thing. According to Betsan Corkhill of Stitchlinks, an organization that endeavors to teach people about the feel-good effects of knitting, “It's the rhythmic, repetitive movements that are important, like a metronome, the rhythm of working the same stitch over and over again calms the heart rate and breathing, creating a feeling of stability and inner quiet.” Furthermore as New York City yoga teacher Tara Stiles explains “Because you're doing a similar pattern over and over, it becomes very calming. It has that effect that yoga and meditation have, that you stop thinking about all the things you have to do and you're brought right into the moment.” After reading these quotes, I completely let myself off the hook about the crocheting rut I am in! And since apparently Einstein would knit to clear his mind, I feel like it’s really all right that I have found my niche in making catnapping blanket after catnapping blanket, stitch in, stitch out…...every.single.time…..